Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing
Every Customer is Not a Good Customer
It takes a business owner of some acumen to accept what seems incredibly illogical. Every customer is not a good customer.
If you’ve been in business for any time at all, you’ve experienced wonderful customers who appreciated the work you did and afforded you a reasonable profit. On the opposite side of the spectrum, you’ve also experienced those customers who made you grit your teeth every time they called or walked into your place of business.
Our goal is to steer clear of those bad customers by being very clear about what kinds of prospects you should be pursuing.
In fact, we’re going to not only aim for the good ones; we’re going after the ideal ones. Granted, that’s a fictional beast. There is no such thing as an ideal customer. But, if we compile the best elements of your best customers, we can create a snapshot of what ideal would look like.
Step One: Define how you measure a great and not so great customer
Every business evaluates their customers differently. Make a list of 5-10 traits that you truly value the most. Some examples might be:
· Don’t have rush orders
· Pay their bills on time
· Don’t quibble about your prices
· Treat your employees with respect
· Make active referrals to their business contacts
· Level of profitability
· Longevity – how loyal are they
· Access to top decision-maker in the company
· Have confidence in your abilities
It’s okay to create a much longer list and then prioritize that list. Once you have your top 10 or so traits, it’s time to look at the other side.
Now, make a list of the 5-10 traits that you absolutely don’t want in a client. Some examples might be:
· Lots of re-do’s
· Slow to make decisions
· Outside your core expertise
· Indecisive
· Infrequent buyer
· Vendor vs. partner attitude
· Hard to reach/communicate with
· Unsophisticated buyer
· Not forthcoming with company information
Hold this list as we move to step two. We’ll come back to it.
Step Two: Take stock
Make a list of your current customers. (If you have an active retail business, pick your top 25). Put them in a purely subjective list of who you like to work with the best. Just trust your gut on this part of the exercise.
Once you have your list, take a closer look at your top five clients. What do they have in common? In this case, you’re looking for behaviors and personality traits. For example:
· Same industry or related industries
· Same-sized business
· Like to mix business with golf
· Love to learn
· Ask good questions
· Great sense of humor
· Very prepared
· Flexible
· Risk taker
Step Three: Know the numbers
Most businesses, regardless of their size, tend to think from a scarcity point of view, when it comes to marketing and new business. The reality is, for 99% of active businesses, you don’t need 1,000 new customers. There are plenty of possibilities out there. So why not just chase the best ones?
Do you know how many new customers your business could support and sustain? Take a little bit of time and identify that number. That will help you determine just how choosy you can be.
Step Four: Ask for feedback
You’ve already attracted some clients who fit the ideal profile, or at least close to it. It’s time to find out why they hired you. Create a simple survey that asks them why they initially hired you and why they keep using your services.
Look for commonalities. Remember, a relationship is a two-way street. You know why they’re a good fit for you. With some help from your current customers, you can also find out why you’re appealing to them.
Step Five: Put it all together
Here’s what you now know:
· The business behaviors that you value most
· The traits you absolutely don’t want
· The personality characteristics of your best customers
· How many new clients you need/can handle
· What your current best customers value from your business
Now that you see it all together, you can adjust your marketing materials to speak directly to your best potential customers. You can use language and visuals that will appeal to them. You can also highlight the offerings that were most important to your current clients, knowing that they will appeal to like-minded prospects.
Imagine a business where you serve only customers who are perfectly suited for you. By doing this exercise and being disciplined enough to follow it – you can have exactly that.
Drew McLellan is a 20+ year veteran of marketing and branding. He owns an agency in Des Moines, IA and writes one of the top 25 marketing blogs in the world, Drew’s Marketing Minute. He is also the author of 99.3 Random Acts of Marketing (2004).
Posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 3:33 pm and is filed under Branding, Customer Service, Leadership, Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
